About Gloomhaven
The benchmark of modern heavy board games. Play mercenaries in a dark fantasy world with permanent consequences. Characters grow, retire, and are replaced.
Is Gloomhaven Right for You?
Best for
Gloomhaven is for a committed group of one to four players who want a months-long tactical campaign with permanent character growth — a board game that fills the role a video-game RPG might. It rewards groups that play together regularly and love deep, puzzly combat.
Maybe skip it if…
It is enormous, heavy, and has a famously fiddly setup. If your group plays irregularly, prefers light games, or hates bookkeeping, the smaller standalone Jaws of the Lion is a far better entry point — or skip it entirely.
How to Play Gloomhaven
Setup
Set up dungeon tiles per scenario book. Select 2 ability cards per round.
On Your Turn
- Select 2 cards — top half of one, bottom of the other.
- Reveal simultaneously. Initiative determines order.
- Enemies act per AI deck.
How to Win
Complete scenario objective.
💡 Strategy Tips
Hand management is critical. Discard vs. lose cards is a crucial decision.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Burning cards too early. Each "lost" card is gone for the whole scenario; when your hand runs out, your character is exhausted and out of the fight. Card management is the real game.
- Playing greedily for gold and XP instead of the scenario objective. Many scenarios are lost by players chasing loot.
- Forgetting that resting (short or long) is a turn. New players run their hands dry because they never plan a rest into the scenario.
- Ignoring elements and enemy initiative. Many powerful abilities depend on infusing or consuming elements on the right turn.
Advanced Strategy
- Choose your two cards each round around their initiative number as much as their actions — going early or late often matters more than the ability itself.
- Plan rests deliberately. A long rest lets you recover a lost card and heal; schedule it before your hand gets dangerously thin.
- Coordinate elements: one character infuses fire, the next consumes it for a bonus. Solo-optimising wastes the system.
- Some scenarios reward speed, not total victory — read the objective and sometimes just run for the exit.
Variants & House Rules
Jaws of the Lion
A standalone, cheaper, far easier-to-learn entry in the same system with a built-in tutorial. We recommend starting here rather than the giant base box.
Frosthaven
The bigger, refined sequel with new classes and an outpost-management layer. For groups that finished Gloomhaven and wanted more.
Digital edition
The video-game version automates all the setup and bookkeeping. Many players prefer it for solo and two-player campaigns.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Gloomhaven set the standard for the legacy-campaign era and still rewards groups willing to commit. The tactical combat is genuinely brilliant. But the base box is a beast — for most people we now recommend starting with Jaws of the Lion and graduating only if you fall in love with the system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I start with Gloomhaven or Jaws of the Lion?
Jaws of the Lion, almost always. It uses the same combat system, costs far less, includes a built-in tutorial campaign, and has dramatically simpler setup. Move to full Gloomhaven or Frosthaven only if you love it.
Can you play Gloomhaven solo?
Yes, and it is excellent solo — most players run two characters at once for balance. The digital edition is especially good for solo play because it handles all the setup.
How long is a Gloomhaven campaign?
The full campaign runs around 95 scenarios; most groups spend 100+ hours over many months. Individual scenarios take 60–120 minutes including setup.